Awake
by Samtastic 3.0
Summary: After a devastating accident, Lincoln is forced to explain why he's so calm about everything. The reason is more than a bit out there...
1. Chapter 1

Lincoln sighed as he sat in the chair. He really didn't want to be here. In all honesty, he didn't even _need_ to be here. But his family thought he should go. He had just been acting a little…off, lately, and they were worried about him.

Lincoln looked around the therapist's office he was sitting in. It was nice, kinda spacious. It had a decent view outside the window of the park across the street.

"Hello, Lincoln," a middle age man walked in. He had brown hair, a bit of stubble, and was well-built, "My name is Christopher Savino. You can call me Dr. Savino, Christopher, Chris, whatever you feel comfortable with."

"Thank you, Dr. Savino," Lincoln said, nodding at the man's calm tone of voice.

"Now, Lincoln," Dr. Savino began, looking over his notes, "I've been told that you have been acting a little off these past few months. Would you like to talk about it?"

"Not really," Lincoln sighed, "But I know I don't have a choice, so have at it."

"Very well," Dr. Savino nodded, "Now, I'm to understand there was a…tragedy in your family a few months ago. Is this correct?"

"Yeah," Lincoln nodded, "Not something I like thinking about."

"But this tragedy," Dr. Savino pushed on, "Is what started your odd behavior, am I right?"

"Technically," Lincoln said, leaning back into the chair, "But personally, I don't think I'm acting any different than I normally do."

"I think that's the problem," Dr. Savino stated, looking at the boy in concern, "After all, what you've been through typically results in not normal behavior, usually depression and anger."

"I have no reason to be depressed or angry," Lincoln shrugged, "Can I go now?"

"In a moment," Dr. Savino said, holding up a hand, "Lincoln, I fear you may be living in a state of denial. Before you go, I hate to do this, but I'd like you to explain what happened to me."

Lincoln sighed, "You'll think I'm crazy."

"No I won't," Dr. Savino shook his head, "This is a safe place, Lincoln. All I am allowed to do is offer opinions and give feedback. Unless I fear you are a danger to yourself and/or others, then nothing you say will leave this room."

Lincoln bit his lip and looked down. "I would like to be able to tell someone," he mumbled.

"Then tell me," Dr. Savino said warmly, "Remember. Safe place."

Lincoln was quiet for another moment. Finally, he looked up at Dr. Savino, who nodded at him.

"Ok," Lincoln sighed at last, "I'll tell you." He took a deep breath, and then began, "6 months ago, I was in a car accident that killed half my family…"

* * *

It was a fun, summer day. The Loud family was in their family van, Vanzilla, on their way home from Dairyland. They had planned the trip a week ago, and they had spent the whole day there, having a blast.

Now, as the sun started to set, they headed home. They were all asleep, worn out from the long day they had just had. Lynn Sr. was driving, with his wife in the passenger seat and their youngest, Lily, in between them in her car seat. The kids were seated in the last three rows in random order, lightly snoozing.

All was calm. The road was deserted, save for them.

Lynn never saw the black SUV with no lights on, as it came barreling around a turn, its driver wasted as f*** behind the wheel. He plowed into Vanzilla, instantly waking everyone up as the van screeched and flipped off the road and down a hill. There were screams, then silence.

* * *

"The engine in the guy's car exploded, burning him and giving him a slow, painful death," Lincoln explained, as Dr. Savino nodded, taking notes over what Lincoln was saying.

"Are you happy about that?" Dr. Savino asked, looking at Lincoln with a raised eyebrow.

"Honestly…" Lincoln paused, as he thought of how to answer the question, "Yes. That guy had already been arrested once for drunk driving, so he knew very well what he was doing was wrong. Only last time, he hit a tree. This time, he killed 6 people. So yes, I am happy that he is no longer a danger to anyone."

Dr. Savino nodded, writing some more notes down.

"So, what happened next?"

"Well, this is the crazy part," Lincoln rubbed his neck, "But in all honesty, I don't really care how crazy it sounds." He paused, and Dr. Savino nodded for him to continue. "So, a few days later I woke up in the hospital…"

* * *

Lincoln slowly opened his eyes, trying to take in his surroundings. He couldn't remember much, and his head was throbbing.

"Hello?" he called out, only to wince at the sting of his completely dry throat and mouth.

"Oh my god…" he heard, "HE'S AWAKE!"

Suddenly, Lori appeared in his line of vision. He then heard what sounded like a bunch of people running, and suddenly Dad and his four older sisters appeared, the 6 of them smiling, relieved at Lincoln finally waking up.

"Oh, thanks god!" Lynn Sr. exclaimed, as he wrapped his son in a hug, only to pull away when Lincoln cried out in pain.

"Water," he gasped, knowing he had questions, but couldn't ask them with his throat as dry as a desert.

Leni complied, running to the water machine and getting her brother a cup of cold water, which he gulped down. Once his throat was finally soothed, he looked up at his family and asked, "What happened?"

The rest of the family looked at each other, clearly concerned about what to say, and during this time Lincoln noticed little things about them. Leni had a bandage on her right cheek, Luna's right eye was black, Lynn had a bandage on her forehead, Luan had what looked like a cut under her chin, and Lori appeared to be missing one of her front teeth. But the worst was Dad, whom he noticed had the top of his head wrapped in bandages.

"What happened?" he repeated, growing alarmed.

* * *

"My heart rate went up, so the nurses had to come and sedate me. After I calmed down, Dad told me about the drunk driver and the car accident, and how…" he took a deep breath and sighed, "How Mom and all 5 of my little sisters had died in the accident."

"I'm so sorry," Dr. Savino said, looking at the boy with sympathy.

"Thank you," Lincoln said, taking a moment to pinch his eyes, as though he was worried the tears would start flowing.

"So…" Dr. Savino tentatively spoke up, "I'm still not sure what the "crazy" part of that story was."

"That's cuz I haven't gotten to it yet," Lincoln sighed, "That night, after crying my eyes out, I went to sleep…"

* * *

When Lincoln woke up the next morning, he noticed his throat was again super dry.

"Hello?" he called out, wincing.

"Oh my god…" he heard again, "HE'S AWAKE!"

This time, he was greeted to Lucy appearing over him. Next thing he knew, Mom and all 5 of his little sisters were standing around his bed.

"You're alive!" Lincoln rasped out in joy, before wincing as he grabbed his throat. Lisa quickly hurried away to the water machine to get her brother a drink, which he eagerly gulped down.

After tossing the cup aside, Lincoln wrapped his family in a hug, "Oh god, you won't believe the messed up dream I just had," he sobbed in joy, "Dad and the older sisters told me you guys had all died in the accident."

Mom and the sisters stopped the hug and slowly pulled away from him, all looking uncomfortable. Still having a smile on his face, Lincoln calmly asked, "What?"

* * *

"At that point, Mom told me that Dad and all my older sisters had died in the car accident," Lincoln sighed.

Dr. Savino, while sympathetic to the boy's plight, looked over his notes in confusion, "Did your mother remarry? I could have sworn a man calling himself your father was the one who arranged this session."

"That's the crazy part," Lincoln sighed, looking Dr. Savino right in the eyes, "I'm living in two realities. One where my mother and little sisters died in the accident while my father and older sisters survived, and one where Dad and the older sisters died while Mom and the little sisters survived. I…I honestly can't tell which is real. And being completely honest…I don't want to."

Dr. Savino frowned at this, but said nothing as he gestured for Lincoln to continue.

"I wear a wristband to remind me which reality I'm in," Lincoln explained, holding up his right arm, "Green in this reality because it's my dad's favorite color, and pink in the other reality because it's my mom's favorite color. I refer to them as the Green and Pink realities, just in case I have to recall something about them."

"I see," Dr. Savino nodded, "It would make sense that because both realities appear to be real, you wouldn't want to get confused. Tell me, other than who survived and who…passed on, are there any other difference between your realities?"

"Well," Lincoln paused as he thought, "In both realities I'm still best friends with Clyde, and his dads are always ready to help us if we need it. I still go to Royal Woods Elementary and am in Mrs. Smith's 6th Grade class. Our school work is usually the same. We still live at the house we've lived at all our lives." Dr. Savino nodded, writing this down. "As for differences, well…"

* * *

It had been a month since the accident, and Ronnie Anne and Lincoln were standing in front of her house, which had a moving van in front of it.

"I hate to leave you, Lame-O, especially now," Ronnie Anne said, taking his hand in hers, briefly brushing over the pink wristband he was wearing, "But when Dad was offered that transfer, Bobby begged him to take it, because pretty much everything in town seems to remind him of Lori."

Lincoln sighed, but nodded, "I understand. I'm gonna miss you, Ronnie Anne."

"I'll miss you too, Lincoln," she said, saying his actual name, as they leaned in and shared a kiss.

"Ronnie Anne, we gotta get going," Bobby called, from the backseat of their family car. Ronnie Anne sighed, but after getting an ok nod from Lincoln, she let go of his hands and headed to the car, where she hopped in the backseat next to her older brother. Bobby gave Lincoln a nod, which the white haired boy returned.

Lincoln stayed on the sidewalk as he watched the family car and the moving van drive out of site, never to return.

* * *

"In this reality," Lincoln said, pointing at the green wristband, "Bobby's father turned down the transfer, because Bobby had no reason to beg him to take it, and as long as his family was happy where they were, he had no reason to move."

"I see," Dr. Savino said, "Anything else?"

"Well…" Lincoln blushed, "Before I started dating Ronnie Anne, I had a crush on this girl named Cristina, and…let's just say it didn't go too well. We haven't talked since she switched classes just to get away from me."

"Oooh," Dr. Savino winced, "I've been there."

Lincoln nodded, knowing that messing up with your crush was a universal guy thing to do, not just for him, "Well, in both realities, she offered me her condolences. However, in the Pink reality…"

* * *

Lincoln was eating lunch with his friends, looking down. Ronnie Anne had moved away the previous weekend, and he was still bummed about it.

"Lincoln?"

All the guys looked up as they saw Cristina approach their table. Clyde gave Lincoln an encouraging pat on the back as the rest of the group slowly left the table.

"Oh, hey, Cristina," he said, giving her a small smile, "What's up?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to you about something…kind of important?" Cristina nervously asked, looking anywhere but at him.

"Sure…" Lincoln said, wondering what was up.

* * *

"Let me guess," Dr. Savino interrupted him, "She said she has a crush on you, has moved on past the embarrassing thing you did, and wanted to make a move now that you were single?"

"Yeah," Lincoln's eyes went wide, "How'd you know?"

"Because…" Dr. Savino paused, knowing what he was about to say could hurt Lincoln, but it was for his own good, "Despite being with Ronnie Anne, you obviously still have feelings for Cristina, and you simply dreamt that she was finally willing to return those feelings."

Lincoln frowned at the man, "I knew you wouldn't believe me."

"No! I do believe you, Lincoln," Dr. Savino stated, "I believe that you've created this alternate reality in your head to help you cope with your loss. There's nothing wrong with that. But you need to accept that it's nothing more than a dream."

"But it's real," Lincoln countered, "Every thing makes sense. There are some moments that are almost parallel to this world that it's almost freaky. In fact, something happened in the Pink reality BEFORE it happened in this reality."

"And that was?" Dr. Savino patiently asked, knowing he had to let Lincoln vent if he was going to help him.

Lincoln rubbed his forehead, trying not to get worked up as he started, "Not counting my closet bedroom, we have 5 bedrooms upstairs, shared by 10 sisters. Well, after the accident…"

* * *

Lincoln looked at the upstairs hallway. It seemed so different now.

He exited his bedroom and began walking down the hall. Turning to his left, he looked into Lisa's room, still cluttered with her inventions. To his right was Lana's room, full of her tools and reptiles. Next to Lana's room was Lucy's room, still dark and gloomy as ever. Next was Lola's room, full of her princess outfits and pageant awards. Across from Lola's room was Lily's room, complete with her crib and a ton of other baby toys.

* * *

Lincoln walked out of his room and looked at the upstairs hall. It seemed so different now.

To his left, he saw Leni's room, complete with all her fashion supplies and sewing equipment. To his right was Luan's room, which had all her props and a stage for her to practice open mic nights. Next to Luan's room was Lynn's room, full of sports gear. Then came Luna's room, still having a bunk bed and a stage, where Luna practiced to be a rock star with all of her sound equipment and instruments. Across the hall was Lori's room, still permanently closed with a "Little Siblings Not Allowed" sign on it.

* * *

"That proves that this other reality is a dream," Dr, Lopez stated, "Your younger sisters spread out in real life, and then you simply dreamt that your older sisters did the same. It makes sense that, after getting over the tragedy, your sisters would each want their own space, especially since they could now actually have it."

Lincoln frowned. Clyde had said that this woman was sympathetic, but she was just determined to convince him that his other reality was a dream, and she was NOT being understanding about it.

"But…they each took parallel rooms: Lisa and Lily and Lori and Leni, and Lola and Lana and Luna and Luan"

"Well," Dr. Lopez thought for a moment, "It makes sense, seeing as it would be the easiest to over stuff simply down the hall, instead of trying to completely rearrange everything. And of course Lucy and Lynn would have no need to move, since they would each automatically have their own space."

Finally getting fed up, Lincoln stated, "Look, I may be dreaming in this other reality, or I may be dreaming now. But in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter?"

"Lincoln," Dr. Lopez chuckled lightly, "I can assure you that this is not a dream."

Now it was Lincoln's turn to chuckle, "That's exactly what Dr. Savino said."

Before Dr. Lopez could say anything to counter that, Lincoln stood up and made his way to the door, "Look, Dr. Lopez, I can understand that maybe it's not entirely healthy for my mental state to keep living in two worlds, but I don't care. The only thing I feel weird about is dating both Cristina and Ronnie Anne, albeit in different realities. But that's it. I have my family, I have everything I could ever want. And I don't plan to give that up any time soon."

At that, Lincoln exited the therapist's office. He met Clyde outside, who asked him, "Everything ok, Linc?"

Lincoln smiled, "Everything's fine, Clyde. Everything's just fine."

* * *

 **Man, I loved** _ **Awake**_ **. Such an interesting premise for a show, a cop living in two realities where many things, big and small, are different. And of course it was so interesting and unique, that it got canned after one season. Sigh. Anyway, I thought the idea of something like that happening to Lincoln would be a really interesting idea, so I decided to write it.**

 **R &R**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but I've gotten good feedback and I realize I have a few more ideas. Not sure exactly how long this will be, so just sit back and enjoy.**

 **Special thanks to reviewer BoukenDutch for pointing out a rather big point I had missed last chapter.**

* * *

 _Green Reality_

Lincoln sighed as he again walked into Dr. Savino's office. Apparently his dad and older sisters were still worried about him, so one therapy session wasn't enough. He hopped into the same chair he had sat in last week, and waited for Dr. Savino to enter.

As he was waiting, Lincoln thought over how his last two therapy sessions had gone; namely, how his therapists were taking his "case". Dr. Savino was more nurturing to him, willing to hear him out about both realities, despite his skepticism. In contrast, Dr. Lopez was a bit harsher; she was willing to listen to Lincoln about his two realities, though she clearly didn't believe him and tried at every opportunity to convince him the other reality wasn't real.

In all honesty, Lincoln wasn't sure if he believed all of this himself. A part of him wondered if he was in the hospital in a coma, and ALL of what was going on was one big dream.

"Greetings, Lincoln," Dr. Savino entered the room, taking a seat across from Lincoln and taking out his notebook, "Sorry for the delay, was just finishing a few things up from my last patient. Now," he paused and took a deep breath, "I'm gonna be straight and to the point with you: I believe this other reality you are living in is just a dream to help you cope with the loss in your family. However, my grandpa is a vet, and every month on the 12th he listens to the last recording of his brother, who died in battle on the 12th. So I perfectly understand needing to cope with loss, and have no plans on making you give this other reality up."

Lincoln's eyes were wide in shock, "Th…thank you, sir."

"Of course," Dr. Savino nodded, "Now, because of this, I would like to talk to you more about these two realities you're living in."

"Ok," Lincoln nodded, "Anything in particular you wanna talk about?"

"Yes," Dr. Savino nodded, looking over his notes "I noticed that for the past couple years, since your sister Lisa was born, you've been the middle child in your family. Not ideal, but all in all ok, right?" Lincoln nodded, and Savino continued, "But based on what you've told me, I realize that, technically, you're now at two opposite ends of the spectrum."

"Come again?" Lincoln asked, slightly confused.

"I'll just say it like it is," Dr. Savino leaned back and clasped his hands together, "In this reality, you're once again the youngest sibling, the baby of the family, if you will. In the other reality, you're now the oldest, and also the man of the house. If you don't mind, I'd like to talk about these two differing points of view from your perspective."

Lincoln nodded in understanding. Truthfully, he thought about that a lot. In the Green Reality, his sisters babied him even more than they used to, especially lately since they were worried about him. In contrast, in the Pink Reality he had to look after his little sisters, and he was starting to get as bad as his older sisters sometimes. There were so many elements that crossed over to each reality in different, yet similar ways, it was honestly getting hard for Lincoln to remember which reality he was in at times.

"Ok," Lincoln shrugged, "How about…um…Oh! How about we talk about what happened this past Friday? It had some moments, but for the most part was what a normal day has been for me lately."

"Ok, what happened?" Dr. Savino asked, getting ready to write down what occurred in the Loud house this past weekend, having one page for the Green Reality, and another for the Pink Reality.

"Well, as I've said, I go through the Green Reality first, so we'll start there…"

* * *

Lincoln woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. In all honesty, he wondered how he was functioning, seeing as when he fell asleep in one reality, he immediately woke up in the other. He figured he had to have two bodies, meaning one slept while the other was up and about. But that didn't explain how his mind was still functioning.

He shook his head, tired of thinking about that (as it was a thought that crossed his mind nearly every time he woke up). Looking to the side of his bed, he saw Leni slumped over in a chair, her eyes shut as she snoozed. Every once in a while, one of the older sisters would come in to check on him at night, and would usually end up falling asleep. It made him feel good to know they were watching out for him, even if they did baby him.

Getting out of bed, he reached over and shook Leni's shoulder, waking her up.

"What?" she shot awake, looking around in confusion, before remembering where she was, "Morning, Linky." She gently caressed his face, "Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"I think so," Lincoln smiled at her, as he got up and the two made their way out of his room, beginning the daily routine of the Loud house.

"Alright, everyone!" Lori called out, exiting her room, "Shower and business in 10 minutes each, then downstairs for breakfast and ready to go by quarter to 8!"

After they had all showered and eaten breakfast, Lori drove them to school. Getting out, Lincoln bid his sisters goodbye. He sighed as he watched Vanzilla 2 (the new van they got after the accident) drive away. He stared at its retreating form, before heading inside to join up with his friends.

* * *

School went pretty much the same as it always did. On his way home from school, Lincoln stopped at Gus' Games and Grub, where both Lori and Leni worked part time to bring in some extra money for the family.

"Hey, guys," he said, smiling at seeing them working hard. Lori was manning the register, and Leni was cleaning tables.

"Hey, twerp," Lori said, smiling at her little brother. Since the accident, Lori had started referring to Lincoln as "twerp" in an affectionate way on a regular basis. "Have a good day at school?"

"Yeah, I did," Lincoln nodded, "You?"

"Yeah," Lori sighed, "Got a ton of homework though. And of course my counselor's been breathing down my neck about…ya know."

Lincoln nodded, understanding. Originally, it was gonna be hard enough for the Loud kids to go to college, seeing as there were 11 of them. But now, things were even more difficult. While in the Pink Reality Lincoln had a good 6 years before college, the Green Reality was the opposite, seeing as Lori was a senior in high school. Sadly, it didn't look like she would be going to college any time soon.

In both Realities, their parents had started taking double shifts to keep a steady flow of money, and the kids had all done what they could to help out. First of all, they all gave up things that cost money, like Luna's concerts and Lana's multitude of pets.

In the Green Reality, Luna had started playing guitar at kids' parties and got a license to street perform, Luan started charging to perform as a clown at parties (which she hated to do, as she believed laughs were a good enough paycheck) and started making some of her own props, Lynn had started something of a training course for out of shape kids which was a big hit with parents in town, and Lori had helped Leni get a job at the arcade. Leni had also taken to selling some of her homemade outfits online, which proved to be rather successful.

In the Pink Reality, Lisa had started taking on more classes at the community college, Lucy had started doing a "pet funeral" service, Lola had started entering as many pageants as she could, due to the prizes often including cash, and Lana had started a lawn care service. Lincoln wasn't TOO thrilled about his little sisters working, as he believed they should be allowed to have time to be kids, but that had insisted on helping out however they could.

The extra help, as well as both parents having had life insurance, had helped tremendously. For the most part, the Loud house's financial situation hadn't changed too much in either reality. But Lincoln had to admit he felt guilty that he wasn't doing anything to help out. At least, not in the Green Reality.

* * *

 _Pink Reality_

Again, Lincoln woke to the sound of the alarm clock right after his head had hit the pillow in the other reality.

Looking to his left, he saw Lucy; on his right was Lisa. This was the norm in the Pink Reality; at least two sisters slept with him each night. Made it kind of pointless to have their own rooms, but still, as long a they felt comfortable and safe, he was fine with it.

Gently shaking them awake, Lincoln slid out of bed and exited his bedroom, right as Lola and Lana were exiting their rooms.

"Alright, everyone!" he called to his little sisters, "Shower and business in 10 minutes each, then downstairs for breakfast and ready to go by quarter to 8!"

They all nodded and got their supplies, while Lincoln went into Lily's room. Immediately, he could smell she needed a diaper change. He walked to the crib and gently pulled her out of it, taking her to the changing table. Once Lily was changed, Lincoln put her in her little outfit, and carried her downstairs.

After everyone was showered and fed, Lincoln made sure they were all ready to go and ushered them out the door.

They made their way towards town, stopping by the daycare to drop Lily off, then Royal Woods Community College where Lisa would be teaching, and then to school. Lincoln made sure Lucy and the twins had everything they would need, before sending them on their way and heading off to find his friends.

* * *

On their way home from school, the kids stopped at Gus' Games and Grub. Lincoln sent his sisters to the employee room, which was essentially a big janitor's closet with a microwave and a mini fridge, and told them to do their homework while he did his job.

Yes, in the Pink Reality, Lincoln had convinced Lori's old boss to let him have her shift, so he could help his family with money. He worked two hours a day after school, and four hours on Saturdays. After work he would stop by RWCC to pick Lisa up, and then head home where Mom would have dinner ready.

Also, in both realities, everyone ate at the grownups table. In the Green Reality, Dad and the sisters saw no point in Lincoln sitting by himself in the kitchen, and in the Pink Reality, Mom didn't want to eat dinner alone in the dining room. Thankfully, everything was fairly steady, as both parents had allowed a bit more leniency at the grownup table, such as the occasional joke and more topics to talk about, as well as a bigger variety of food.

All in all, everything was steady, and Lincoln didn't mind. Of course, he missed the free time they all had had together, but that was a small price to pay. Plus, they had made sure they had Sundays off, so at least there was one day a week that they all had together (more or less).

* * *

Dr. Lopez nodded, writing down what Lincoln was telling her, "So, based on what you've told me, it's obvious that the other reality is a dream."

"Please, tell me why," Lincoln sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Think about it, Lincoln," Dr. Lopez said, looking at him seriously, "You're now the oldest sibling AND the man of the house. You're not even a teenager, and yet you've had to get a part-time job. Obviously this is weighing on you, hence why you dream this other reality where you're the "baby" of the family, where you don't have to grow up."

Lincoln frowned. That actually made sense. He didn't MIND his job, but it still wasn't ideal to have to go to school all day, work for a couple hours, and then spend the rest of the night doing homework until bed. But still, it was a little extra money for his family.

And if that wasn't enough, there was the fact that any free time was spent with at least one of his siblings. Because Mom had started working double shifts to make sure they still had enough money, he was the full-time babysitter. At least in the Green Reality, it was Lori's responsibility to look after all of them; but at the very least she had a license so she could DRIVE them to school. Lincoln was stuck walking his little siblings to school.

"Look," Lincoln sighed, "I'll admit neither reality is ideal, but this way I get to keep all of my family. I don't care how many sessions we have, how much you try to convince me the other reality is a dream. I'm not giving it up." At that, Lincoln stood up and made his way towards the door.

Dr. Lopez watched him go, muttering, "Most stubborn kid I've ever dealt with. I admire that." At that, she started writing some more in her notes, "Very certain Mr. Loud will become one of my most interesting patients."

* * *

 **We get to see a bit more in the life of the alternate Loud Houses. So much different, yet still the same in a way.**

 **Also, I know you guys want it, so expect "Burning Secret" to be updated in the next couple of days.**

 **R &R**


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